Stan Lee on Cameos and Superheroes

Five Years Ago: Creating Superheroes and Cameos

Kids, teenagers, and adults of all ages got weak in the knees around Marvel icon Stan Lee. Yet, talking to them moments after meeting him, you could hear the joy in their voices. Some shed tears of happiness. Universally, they looked frozen in the moment of delight — as if they were opening Christmas presents or getting ready to blow out candles on their birthday cake.

I chatted with a 50-something father who confessed that taking his teen daughter to meet Stan was a bucket list kind of event, one that they were able to share together. He wiped tears from his eyes as he reminisced about watching Marvel films with his daughter and how Lee’s cameos were a bonding moment for them.

Stan Lee on cameos in Marvel films

These clips are from a September 26, 2017 newspaper piece on Stan's appearance at a comic book convention in Madison, Wisconsin, (about a year before he died).

The sentiment demonstrates his significance as the symbol of Marvel and Marvel Studios for so many fans. There has never been a phenomenon quite like Stan’s cameo roles. His brief blip on the screen frequently caused the audience to break out in applause. For many fans, the cameo was as necessary and elemental as the film itself. One could not exist without the other.

Anyone else remember going to a Marvel film and hearing spontaneous applause when Stan's cameo rolled?

Stan Lee's co-created superheroes an inspiration

Stan Lee's co-created superheroes have served as an inspiration for generations because he gave them human traits. This idea — so novel in the early 1960s — caught fire during an era where novelists, screenwriters, and others were challenging conventional norms about what it meant to be a superhero.

Learn more about Stan’s epic tale in Stan Lee: A Life (Rowman & Littlefield).

Stan Lee: A Life by historian and biographer Bob Batchelor

"Spider-Man, Spider-Man"

Who's going to see the Spider-Man movie today? Who has already seen it?

I'm going today...First time back in a theater...

Superman launched comic book superheroes, but Spider-Man made them human. This nerdy teenager from Queens was full of complexities and angst, just like the rest of us. But, he still abided by Stan Lee’s immortal line: “With great power, there also must also come -- great responsibility.”

The film is taking the world by storm during a dark time — two years of a global pandemic, economic uncertainty, political chaos. Will Spider-Man save the day?

50 Years Ago -- The Rawhide Kid!

In December 1971, a lesser-know Marvel hero tackled racism in Rawhide Kid #94.

Written and drawn by Larry Lieber (yes, Stan Lee’s kid brother and a fine comic book creator in his own right), the Rawhide Kid is little known outside comic book historian circles, but the series was popular for Marvel for many decades. The Rawhide Kid sprung to life in the mid-1950s when Marvel was called Atlas and a young editor named Stan Lee needed to find exciting (yet wholesome) heroes in the wake of the national hysteria regarding comic book indecency, including nationally-televised Senate hearings on the subject.

The singing cowboy actors, like Roy Rogers and Gene Autry, were perfect for comic books. They presented a generally wholesome image, but could mix it up with fistfights and gunfights, thus providing some action. And, people never seemed to get tired of celebrating America’s (complicated) history of the West.

The Rawhide Kid #94

Larry Lieber talked to Roy Thomas about his motivation for writing Rawhide Kid, explaining, “I wanted people to cry as if they were watching High Noon.” A famous 1952 film starring Gary Cooper, High Noon won a handful of Academy Awards and was selected by the Library of Congress for inclusion in the National Film Registry.

Like so many of Marvel’s famous superheroes, Marshal Will Kane (Cooper) has to choose between upholding his honor and fulfilling his duty to others or putting his personal happiness first. Fitting that such a conflicted character was Lieber’s inspiration and that his mental map was of a film, considering how cinematic Lee and others viewed Marvel comic books.

In Rawhide Kid #94, the cover is misleading, because the Kid actually helps Rafe Larsen the Black gunfighter shown shooting at him. After solving the mystery of a frame job against Larsen, the Rawhide Kid helps him to freedom, but Larsen knows that he will continue to confront racism, no matter the small town and “the next passle of haters!” Although Lieber and Marvel should be lauded for putting a Black character on its cover (rare in those days), race is treated simplistically with tried-and-true tropes, like the Kid stating: “Every man, white or black, is entitled to his day in court!” All the Whites in the story (except the hero) are trying to kill Larsen, but he is still berated for not trusting any of them.

We can’t go back in time to fully understand the historical context of why Lieber would pull his punches on race and racism, but from contemporary eyes, it seems he could have been more provocative.

On a separate note…I wonder if a Rawhide Kid MCU film will someday make its way to the screen…

John Updike: Pennsylvania Roots on the Updike Podcast

John Updike was born in Pennsylvania in 1932. Much of his early work, including the famed Rabbit novels and many critically acclaimed short stories were set in the state. Examining Updike's PA roots is important in understanding his development as a writer and how that output shaped his "writerly" life. 

I share snippets of a 1983 Updike speech in which he discusses many of these Pennsylvania connections and why he chose to dedicate his artistic life to "middles."

On another note...

I am incredibly honored to feature the fantastic piano piece, called "Swing Of The Hip," written and performed by Evan Palazzo. Evan is the band leader and pianist of The Hot Sardines, the group he and front woman, singer extraordinaire Elizabeth Bougerol created to play the great jazz classics of a century ago, as well as their own original recordings. If you love jazz, you should be listening to The Hot Sardines. Or, once live music kicks off again, see them at one of their many global tour stops. I guarantee seeing THS live is a concert experience you will never forget! For my money, The Hot Sardines are simply the best jazz band playing today!

For more information about The Hot Sardines, visit them online at www.hotsardines.com or at Facebook or Instagram where many thousands of followers gather to get the latest news, music, and information about the band.